Sunrise trekking to Mount Batur

Asia Exchange organized a trekking trip to Mount Batur to watch the sunrise.

Mount Batur is a volcano and it’s 1717 meter above the sea level so it was quite a journey to climb uphill especially when I had a fever while climbing it. Mount Batur is located in Kintamani, Bangli regency.

We took a bus from Sanur around 1.15 o’clock on Friday night and headed to Mount Batur. It took us approximately two hours to get there. Around 3.30 in the morning we started climbing Mount Batur with guides leading the way. We were a group of ten people so we had two guides in our group because there was one guide per five people. The climbing was very hard and exhausting, harder than I thought really and maybe even more so because I was sick.

It took us two hours to get to the top of the volcano and the view was so beautiful and rewarding. It was worth every drop of sweat and tear (okay maybe I’m being a little too dramatic). The sun started rising 6.10 in the morning so we got there right on time. On the top we had some breakfast; tea, coffee and banana bread that was included in the price of the trek (IDR 350k). We just sat there and enjoyed the view, took pictures and just breathed in the fresh air. We were up maybe about two hours and then we started to descending back the mountain and that took us maybe one and a half hours.

I recommend a good pair of shoes when trekking Mount Batur and lots of warm clothes because at night when you start climbing it’s really cold. I had jogging shoes and pants, t-shirt and on top of that a sweater which I took off when it got warmer after the sun had risen. A water bottle is a good thing to have and some snacks because there is a lot of water breaks during the climb. I would also recommend taking a respirator mask or a bandana because when you climb down the sand is flying everywhere. Also a flashlight is a good thing to bring because it’s very dark when you climb up in the night time. Usually the guides have extra flashlights to borrow.

Maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea to climb up a mountain when sick but I’m so glad I did it because after that I felt like a champion. The view was so breath-taking that the climb was definitely worth it! And it was a very good work out as well. I would really recommend going on a trekking trip to Mount Batur!